Florida Rattlesnake ID

[bergie]

Hello,,,please let me know type of rattler if you know? Is it a Pygmy? Thank you.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Did it have rattles? I looked back and saw no mention of it.
Newt

I think the answer to this question would solve it.

 

[Pull_tab_mike]

I HATE SNAKES......................................HAVE FUN WITH THIS TOPIC

 

[Monty]

I was thinking water snake too but just didn't post it. The head shape is too long and pointed for a viper. A poison snake has an almost heart shaped head except for maybe the coral snake. But better safe than sure. You could pull the upper part of the mouth up with a stick or something and if a posion snake a set of fangs should drop out of the roof of the mouth. I have seen small rattle snakes that didn't have rattles yet. And there is also a non-poisonous snake that likes to mimic a rattle snake. He will shake his tail in the leaves and almost sound like one but instead of a buzz, it will be more of a rustling sound, oh and he will coil up and strike at you until you whack him with a stick. Then he will roll over and play dead. You can set him back up on his stomach and he will roll right back over on his back. They are fun to watch, but will scare the heck out of you if you if you come upon one unexpected. Monty

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I guess Ive already said enough but one thing I want to add is that the Pygmy Rattler is a fairly common snake here in Florida and maybe those of you that do not have this snake in your state will expect to see the huge head of a viper. This is a very common snake here and a person that would get confused between a water snake and a Pygmy would not have very much experience with snakes. Its not hard to tell the difference.

That being said the problem here is the pictures. They are not perfectly clear. But I have outlined the triangle shaped head for those that are looking at that for identification. While it is true that vipers have a large heart shaped head, this is a very small snake and I have posted several pics already showing that the head is not that you would expect to see on a western rattlesnake or Eastern Diamondback.

As far as rattles go its true that other snakes will shake the tip of their tail. I forget which ones but I believe I have seen Moccassins do this. The Pygmy has a tiny rattler no doubt and most of us do not get close enough to hear it but it most certainly has a tiny rattler.

Bergie asked: what type of rattler is this? (not what type of snake?) so Im assuming he saw a rattle.

Now if Bergie says this snake was over 2 feet long, forget everything I said LOL.

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I HATE SNAKES......................................HAVE FUN WITH THIS TOPIC

I love snakes but the few poisonous varieties give me the creeps.

 

[bergie]

Hi, all. I didn't give all the info...it's 15" long and I saw what I thought to be a very small rattle, also black like the end of the snake so hard to discern. You can see how the tip is slightly enlarged far end of this photo, though it's not an ideal photo to tell. I didn't get a good photo of that part of the snake. The sucker was very aggressive striking anything you would put near it's face, so maybe that's a hint if a water snake would act differently, maybe it wouldn't but in case that helps. (By the way, it was dead at this point, that's why it was not curled up and striking in any of the photos)

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

I dont know Bergie, the new pic is not bad but it kinda looks like a water snake in the new pic. It also looks like a malnourished Pygmy lol. In person it would be easy to tell. At 15 inches a Pygmy would be full grown and you should be able to see a small rattle. I believe the rattle will be brown. Can you take a close up of the tail or is it too late?.

Or maybe try Montys advice and look for the fangs but be very careful because even a dead snake has poison.

A water snake can be aggressive but they are never far from water.

 

[Newt]

Hi, all. I didn't give all the info...it's 15" long and I saw what I thought to be a very small rattle, also black like the end of the snake so hard to discern. You can see how the tip is slightly enlarged far end of this photo, though it's not an ideal photo to tell. I didn't get a good photo of that part of the snake. The sucker was very aggressive striking anything you would put near it's face, so maybe that's a hint if a water snake would act differently, maybe it wouldn't but in case that helps. (By the way, it was dead at this point, that's why it was not curled up and striking in any of the photos)

Looks like a water snake to me. The tail in the last pic is kind of lanky. It should be fairly thick until the buttons of the rattlers. Unless there's a bunch. But that would be uncharacteristic of the pygmy. More water snakes are killed unneccesarly because of there threatening look than any other poisonous snake. That's too bad as they eat the stuff that often spread diseases to humans.
Newt

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Heres another pic of the Pygmy. Coloration pattern varies. Its usually a stubby snake, not long and lean. Average size about 12-18 inches. The tail is not long and thin. The little rattle is not black.

 

[AU Seeker]

The one thing that no one has mentioned that would tell you for certain if this was indeed a pit viper is it's eyes, the pupils would be elliptical, if the pupils were round it is not venomous, unless it was a coral snake, it is for sure not a Coral snake, all venomous snakes in North America except the Coral snake has elliptical pupils.

I know that you don't want to get close enough to "Look a snake in the eye", but if you have killed one this is a way to confirm if it was in deed venomous.

I personally do not kill snakes as I believe they have a purpose in the ecosystem.

I'm the neighborhood snakeman, everyone in my neighborhood calls me when they have a snake problem and I capture them and relocate them to a more suitable area away from people.

I have my doubts that this snake is a pygmy due to the patterns I see, but the pictures lack enough detail to deny or confirm the species.

All pygmy rattlesnakes I have seen have a orange/red strip broken by spots down it length.

Here are some pictures of "snake eyes" for helping everyone to see the difference, one is a Black Rat snake not venomous, the other two are Copperheads and are venomous one picture is shot with bright light the other shot with normal light.

Skip

 

[PChammer]

Well, it's possible that someone's pet got out. The head looks like a python.

EDIT: perhaps a pacific boa constrictor? Or... image below see reference here... http://pacificboasnakes.blogspot.com/2008/04/kingsnakecom-herpforum-re-fiji-boas-in.html

 

[Bigcypresshunter]

Its so hard to tell by the pictures.

If Bergie lives on the water and the snake has no tiny rattle, I will change my guess to banded water snake like the others.

 

[Woodland Detectors]

His looks like a H20 snake to us.

Pygmy Rattler:

Description: This small [14–22 in (38-56 cm)] rattlesnake belongs to the genus Sistrurus and is commonly referred to as a pigmy rattler or ground rattler. Unlike the larger rattlesnakes of the genus Crotalus, this species has nine large scales on top of the head and a tiny rattle that can SELDOM be heard.

Here's all the info you need on different varieties of the Pygmy Rattle snake.
http://www.uga.edu/srelherp/snakes/sismil.htm

Nasty little critter

 

[ivan salis]

there are several types of dangerous snakes here in Florida -- in the rattler family -- eastern diamond back (they get very big) , cane break rattlers, (middle sized), pygmy rattlers (small sized) as well as water moc's , copperheads and of course the infamous coral snake...

 

[Eastcoasthunter21]

That's the kind of snake you stay away from. It's very simple no investigation needed. Kill it and move on. If you kill every snake you see you will cause no harm in the Eco system do not feel bad. Snakes bite and kill people period
Do it first !

 

[M_d_in_guy]

I believe it's a water snake, was that a new pic you posted on page 2 bergie? If so there is too long of a taper on the tail for it to be a rattler, IMO.

There's no need to kill every snake you see, nature has a way of keeping snakes in balance, eg; the king snake etc. Educate yourself and be aware of your surroundings and if ur going into snake territory wear proper gear. Also a common myth........oh that cottonmouth chased me right out of the swamp lol, hogwash. Check it out.